Swamp Thing
by Tracy Diane Miller
Summary: Dad" inspired this very short missing scene story.


Swamp Thing  
  
Summary: "Dad" inspired this very short "missing" scene story.  
  
Disclaimer: Early Edition characters belong to their creators. No  
  
copyright infringement intended. No profit is being made.  
  
Author's Notes: Okay, so it's a goofy title, but it just wouldn't  
  
leave me alone. Go figure. The story kinda "wrote itself" after that  
  
.  
  
Author: Tracy Diane Miller  
  
E-mail address: tdmiller82@hotmail.com  
  
Swamp Thing  
  
He had never been so cold, wet, and dirty in his life. It seemed as  
  
if the entire bed of mud and filth from the swamp had cleaved to  
  
every pore of his skin. He wondered if one shower would succeed in  
  
allowing him to ever feel clean again.  
  
It wasn't enough that he was getting "up close and personal" with the  
  
mosquitoes who had apparently decided that he'd make the perfect late  
  
night snack. The leeches, if uninvited to the "banquet", were still  
  
aggressive and territorial. These bloodsuckers decided to crash the  
  
party anyway. He thought that it was bad sharing his bed with a flea-  
  
infested feline. He was wrong. Spending the night in a swamp was  
  
hundred times worse. What had he ever done to deserve this kind of  
  
punishment?  
  
Gary could hear Jennifer's father ranting in the distance. The man  
  
was searching the wooded area for that "worthless coward who had run  
  
away". Poised with his Louisville slugger, the over protective father  
  
wielded the bat with the intent of doing significant bodily damage;  
  
he was going to teach that loser a lesson about taking advantage of  
  
his daughter. Gary could hear Jennifer, upset and frantically trying  
  
to calm her father down. And there he remained, very still and  
  
quiet, undetected in the swamp. He had been cast as the unwilling  
  
understudy for Jennifer's boyfriend, Ted.  
  
He had never had this kind of grief when he was dating. Gary  
  
remembered a time when he was seventeen. One night, he had planned a  
  
more romantic date for Genie than just a movie. He had used his  
  
allowance and some of the money that he had earned over several  
  
months of doing chores for the neighbors to take Genie to a nice  
  
restaurant. Afterwards, he had taken her to a quiet and secluded  
  
spot where they gazed at the stars. That was the night that he first  
  
told Genie that he loved her and promised her that they would have a  
  
future together. And the kiss that they shared that night was pure  
  
magic.  
  
Unfortunately, it was getting late and he and Genie needed to get  
  
back in time for their curfew. However when he tried to start the  
  
car, it wouldn't start. The engine had died! There they were  
  
stranded in the middle of nowhere. Gary had briefly considered that  
  
they could walk back towards the main road where they were sure to  
  
find help. But the fact that it was also cold changed his mind.  
  
They ended up spending the night in his car, cuddled very closely  
  
together sharing body warmth. The next morning, when they finally  
  
made it home, it was time to face the music. Two sets of parents  
  
were grateful that their children were alive. The Hobsons and  
  
Berlatskis had envisioned terrible scenarios when Gary and Genie  
  
failed to show up at the designated time the previous night. When  
  
they heard the "car trouble" story, Mr. Berlatski initially was very  
  
angry. Genie's father had implied that Gary had set the whole thing up  
  
as a means of getting Genie alone and vulnerable so that he could  
  
take advantage of her. The Hobsons jumped in to defend their son. A  
  
short while later, Mr. Berlatski apologized to Gary and admitted that  
  
he had jumped to an unfair conclusion. Gary had never shown him that  
  
he was the kind of young man who couldn't be trusted with his  
  
daughter. But never once had Mr. Berlatski or any other father of a  
  
girl that he had dated come at him with a baseball bat!  
  
It seemed like an eternity, but finally Jennifer's father had given  
  
up the search. Gary let out a sigh of relief. All he wanted to do  
  
was get home to a nice, long hot shower. Tonight had been one of the  
  
longest nights of his life. Perhaps tomorrow would be better.  
  
Of course, only the early edition knew that for sure.  
  
The End 


End file.
